Fantastic Voyage
1.5/4
Starring: Stephen Boyd, Edmond O'Brien, Donald Pleasance, Arthur O'Connell, Arthur Kennedy, Raquel Welch, William Redfield
Rated PG (probably for Some Scary Images)
How could this movie go so wrong? It's such a good high concept for a movie: shrinking a bunch of scientists and then inserting them into the human body. What happened? Could it be the episodic screenplay? The hopelessly cheesy special effects? The lack of any real conflict? It is, in fact, all of them. And more. This is one of the few movies that would do well with a remake. It's hard to imagine it being worse.
A brilliant scientist has just been brought to the US. But on his way to safe haven with the US government, an attempt is made on his life. During the struggle, a blood clot forms in his brain which leaves him in a coma. Since normal surgery is impossible, that leaves one option: a team of scientists must enter a vessel called the Proteus, be shrunk to microscopic size, and then travel to his brain to destroy the clot. All in the space of an hour. As if it weren't bad enough, there may be a traitor on board.
This movie was ahead of its time, and I don't mean that as a compliment. Special effects had clearly not advanced well enough to tell this story convincingly, and director Richard Fleisher's attempts to bridge the gap do not work. Colored tarp, obvious wire work and gauze are not substitutes for CGI. Even taking the fact that it was made in 1966 does not negate the fact that the "special effects" are hilariously cheesy.
Of course, if the lack of convincing special effects was the only flaw of this movie, it would be easier to overlook. But the film comes up short in other areas as well. For one, the acting is atrocious. Lead actor Stephen Boyd is easily the worst, displaying all the range of a cement block. Donald Pleasance is at least earning his paycheck. Everyone else is either bored or has nothing to do.
"Fantastic Voyage" has another fatal flaw: bad storytelling. The film has an episodic feel to it that kills whatever tension the story generates. It gets repetitive. Not that it generates much, since each obstacle is overcome far too easily, and is usually accompanied by special effects that make Nickelodeon's "Legends of the Hidden Temple" look good.
Maybe it was just made too early. Good special effects would have sold the concept a lot better and covered up some of the film's faults, like a lead actor who cannot act. A better script would have helped too. Then again, Richard Fleisher would later go on to direct the camp classic "Red Sonja," so all of this may have been intentional. Or just more evidence that he was a talentless hack.
Starring: Stephen Boyd, Edmond O'Brien, Donald Pleasance, Arthur O'Connell, Arthur Kennedy, Raquel Welch, William Redfield
Rated PG (probably for Some Scary Images)
How could this movie go so wrong? It's such a good high concept for a movie: shrinking a bunch of scientists and then inserting them into the human body. What happened? Could it be the episodic screenplay? The hopelessly cheesy special effects? The lack of any real conflict? It is, in fact, all of them. And more. This is one of the few movies that would do well with a remake. It's hard to imagine it being worse.
A brilliant scientist has just been brought to the US. But on his way to safe haven with the US government, an attempt is made on his life. During the struggle, a blood clot forms in his brain which leaves him in a coma. Since normal surgery is impossible, that leaves one option: a team of scientists must enter a vessel called the Proteus, be shrunk to microscopic size, and then travel to his brain to destroy the clot. All in the space of an hour. As if it weren't bad enough, there may be a traitor on board.
This movie was ahead of its time, and I don't mean that as a compliment. Special effects had clearly not advanced well enough to tell this story convincingly, and director Richard Fleisher's attempts to bridge the gap do not work. Colored tarp, obvious wire work and gauze are not substitutes for CGI. Even taking the fact that it was made in 1966 does not negate the fact that the "special effects" are hilariously cheesy.
Of course, if the lack of convincing special effects was the only flaw of this movie, it would be easier to overlook. But the film comes up short in other areas as well. For one, the acting is atrocious. Lead actor Stephen Boyd is easily the worst, displaying all the range of a cement block. Donald Pleasance is at least earning his paycheck. Everyone else is either bored or has nothing to do.
"Fantastic Voyage" has another fatal flaw: bad storytelling. The film has an episodic feel to it that kills whatever tension the story generates. It gets repetitive. Not that it generates much, since each obstacle is overcome far too easily, and is usually accompanied by special effects that make Nickelodeon's "Legends of the Hidden Temple" look good.
Maybe it was just made too early. Good special effects would have sold the concept a lot better and covered up some of the film's faults, like a lead actor who cannot act. A better script would have helped too. Then again, Richard Fleisher would later go on to direct the camp classic "Red Sonja," so all of this may have been intentional. Or just more evidence that he was a talentless hack.
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